


Advice From a Photograph

by Rasiaa



Series: Teddy and Victoire [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen, Photographs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:01:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23961163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rasiaa/pseuds/Rasiaa
Summary: Five times Teddy turns to his parents for guidance.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley
Series: Teddy and Victoire [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/683027
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	Advice From a Photograph

**Author's Note:**

> for solve the rubiks cube challenge on HPFC - object: textbook
> 
> I've been messing with this for days and am still not happy with it, but I'm going to post it anyway so I can stop looking at it.

one

...

Photos can't talk.

But they can still answer.

"I don't know what to do," Teddy says to himself, pacing.

No matter how he wants to avoid it, the fact is plain. Andromeda is dying. She can't take care of him anymore. Teddy is ten years old, and he has just one path ahead of him. He doesn't want to take it.

Harry and Ginny are his godparents, and he loves them very much. They have three children of their own. They live in a huge London townhouse. He knows they would be good at taking care of him. They can do it. He just doesn't want them to. He wants his grandmother.

There's a photo of his parents lodged in the frame of his bathroom mirror.

He's been wondering more and more lately how they would've done it. What they would've done to bring him to this point. If they would've been happy. Some deep part of him wonders if they can see him now, and if they can, if they're happy with what they see.

Teddy stops in front of the bathroom sink and looks at the photograph. His parents are on a constant loop of smiling to each other and then to whoever took the picture. His father's arms are around his mother. He recognizes his grandmother's kitchen behind them. This picture is as familiar to him as his grandmother. These two are more directly related to him but he doesn't know them at all.

He doesn't want to live with Harry and Ginny. He wants to stay here, in the country, in this little rustic house where he's lived his whole life.

But he can't. Andromeda is being relocated to St. Mungo's next week. They're going to make her comfortable, apparently, like he doesn't know what that means. The implications close his throat and make tears spring into his eyes.

"I wish you were here," he whispers, taking down the picture.

As all magical photos do, the subjects become aware of the attention. Their gazes lock onto him and their smiles become softer, more loving.

"What can I do now?" he asks, desperate, but photos can't talk.

He drops to his knees in front of his bathroom sink and cries.

...

two

...

The green ink shimmers in the light. Teddy turns it slightly to see it again.

Most people can't wait for this, but Teddy would like to give it back. The thought of leaving and having yet another "home" is not appealing. He doesn't care that it's Hogwarts.

His parents _died_ there. He doesn't want to go.

Since he lives with Harry and Ginny now, he moved the photo of his parents into a frame that he keeps on his desk. He picks it up and looks between the picture and the letter that welcomes him to Hogwarts.

He hasn't told anyone that it came yet, afraid of hurting their feelings somehow when he tells them he would rather stay here, with Victoire and his godparents and their family. He hasn't got anyone else. He won't know anyone. Everyone he loves is here.

" _I couldn't wait to go_ ," Ginny said yesterday. " _All my brothers went and they loved it there so much._ "

" _Getting my letter every year was the best day of the summer_ ," Harry told him.

He wants to just hide it and pretend he wasn't offered a position, but he knows that wouldn't work since they both know Headmistress McGonagall and she'd check the records. Not to mention he's used magic before, however brief, and everyone knows that, too.

He wishes for his parents a lot. Harry and Ginny are wonderful, and he wouldn't give them up, but they're James and Albus and Lily's parents, not his. Only Harry understands what it feels like, but even then, he doesn't talk about it if he can help it, too wounded by Remus' loss even after all these years. He doesn't know how to tell him that the silence hurts.

He sighs and drops both items on the desk. "I know I have to go," he tells the picture. "I just don't see how I could be happy there--I don't know how to make friends and what if I turn out to be a total failure at school?" He knows that's unlikely. In fact, that's downright stupid. He has enormous control over his magic, even now. He swallows and looks at the picture, searching their faces. "What if... what if Vic forgets about me? She's got siblings. Cousins. She could make friends with them..." A tear slides down his face before he can stop it. "Merlin, this is stupid," he says, and drops his head onto the desk.

"Teddy? Are you alright?"

He looks up and finds his godfather standing there. "We called you for dinner..."

"Sorry," Teddy says, wiping his face. "Sorry. I was just... thinking."

Harry hums a bit and comes to stand next to him. "Is that your letter?" he asks, even though it's obvious. Teddy nods anyway and hands it to him. Harry looks it over briefly. "New editions for the books..." he mutters to himself. "We'll have to get you an owl."

"Don't want one," Teddy says before he can stop himself.

Harry looks at him with raised eyebrows, but he doesn't seem mad. Nevertheless, Teddy hurriedly corrects himself. "I mean. Can I have a cat instead, maybe?"

"A cat?" Harry echoes, amused. "Should've guessed that, I suppose. Sure, we can do that."

Teddy attempts a smile, sure it looks fake. Harry must thinks so, too, because the amusement fades from his face. "Okay, what's wrong? I would've thought you'd bring this to us yesterday, when it arrived."

"It didn't," Teddy says.

"I saw the owl," Harry says plainly. Teddy winces. Harry leans on the desk and puts the letter down. His eyes find the picture and he says, "They'd be very proud of you."

He's not sure what to say, so he keeps silent. After a minute, Harry continues. "Do you know which House you want? Tonks was in Hufflepuff, you know. Remus was--"

"Gryffindor," Teddy finishes miserably. "I know. You've said before."

Harry frowns. "What's wrong?" he asks again.

He hesitates, looking at the letter, and then the picture. "They... they died there, you know."

Harry lets out a slow breath. "Yes, I remember. I was there. It's safe, now. You don't have to worry."

"I'm not," Teddy says. "I just don't want to go. They _died_ there, Harry."

He glances at his godfather and finds that his eyes are almost blank. "Yes," Harry whispers. "Yes, they did. A lot of people did, Teddy. You know... I don't think I've ever told you this, but I was able to speak with Remus after he died."

"What?" he asks, bewildered. "How?"

"The Resurrection Stone. I was able to call the spirits of my parents, Sirius, and Remus to me when I needed them. I needed their strength and guidance. I thought of you when I saw Remus there, and I said that I was sorry. He told me that he was, too, but he wanted you to have a better place to grow up in, to thrive without war. Teddy, don't let the past hold you back. They wanted you to be happy. Believe me when I say that Hogwarts will give you much more than an education. Don't be afraid of it. Voldemort chose Hogwarts for a reason, when he made us fight there. It's one of the most magical places in the world, even beyond the _actual_ magic. Gin would know Tonks' opinion on it better than I do, but I know that Remus found a home there when he didn't have one anywhere else. He'd want that for you, too."

" _This_ is my home," Teddy says. "I don't want to leave."

Harry looks at him. "That might be true," he says, not sounding like he believes it, "But you should give it a chance, Teddy. I can't say how your experience will be. It's different for everyone; it means something different to everyone who steps foot beyond those doors. But I've never met someone who regrets it, who hated it. You--it's a place where you can _find_ yourself, Teddy."

Teddy looks away, picking at his fingers. "You..." he starts to say, but can't bring himself to finish. _You won't forget me, right?_

Maybe Harry hears it anyway. "I know we're not related, but you _are_ family, you know. Always were, always will be. We love you, Teddy."

"Love you, too," he says, and leans into the side-hug Harry tugs him into.

"Dinner's downstairs," Harry says again. "Talk to me, or Gin, or anyone you feel comfortable with, okay? There's no need to keep things bottled up; I learned that lesson a long time ago."

"Okay," Teddy agrees. He doesn't look up from his hands as Harry takes his leave, closing the door gently behind him. As his footsteps fade, Teddy looks at the picture. "I wish you were here," he says.

After a minute of watching the picture do its everlasting movements, he gets up and heads downstairs.

...

three

...

Victoire is talking to Ryan again.

Teddy has to take a deep breath to calm himself before he breaks yet another quill.

He has no right to her, he knows. They're not dating, but by Merlin, does he want to be. He loves her so much and has for his whole life and it _hurts_ , seeing her flirting with other guys.

"Dude, seriously, just ask her out," his friend Hannah says again.

He jumps a bit and looks at her guiltily. "Who?" he asks. She frowns.

"Your best friend from the day she was born?" Hannah says flatly. "Veela? Prettiest girl in school? Ring any bells?"

Teddy just sighs and looks to his essay. He has no idea which one he was supposed to be writing. He's got three due before the end of the week. He understands now why everyone hates fifth year.

"Ugh, Teddy, come on. Everyone knows you're totally gone on her. I doubt she'll tell you no."

"You don't know that," Teddy answers, scanning the books around him. It's not proving to be very helpful, since he's got books for five different subjects. "She could tell me to fuck off and then it'd get weird and I'd rather be her friend than lose her."

Hannah groans, dropping her quill. "If you don't ask her before the end of the week, I'll ask her for you," she threatens.

"You wouldn't!" Teddy's head snaps around to stare at her, wide eyed. "You can't."

"Can and will," she retorts. "I mean it, Ted. She's in love with you. She keeps glancing over here to make sure you notice that she's flirting."

Teddy scoffs. "As if I couldn't notice," he says. "Besides, she's not in love with me."

"Hey, Victoire!" Hannah shouts suddenly. Teddy jumps, heart in his throat.

"What are you doing?" he hisses furiously. "Are you insane?"

"She's your best friend," Hannah whispers back. "You've known her since before you have any memories. Relax. Here she comes."

Sure enough, Victoire sits down across from them with a smile a second later. "Hello," she says. "How's that essay coming along, Teddy?"

"Fine," he answers, praying that Hannah will keep her mouth shut and forget this whole thing.

No such luck. "Teddy has something to ask you," she says, and plucks his quill from his hands to stop him from fiddling with it.

Victoire smiles again, blinding and oh so beautiful. His breath catches. The silence stretches on as his anxiety rises. Vic's smile slowly fades to concern. "Teddy?" she asks softly. She reaches to her throat, where the necklace he gave her years ago still rests.

Seeing the long silver chain gives him some strength. His mother's ring is on the end of it. "Do--do you want to--uh, go to Hogsmeade next week? Like--a date?"

It comes out rushed, and he hastily shoves his hands under the table so she doesn't see them shaking. He vaguely notices Hannah getting up and leaving, but his eyes remain glued to the girl across from him.

Victoire looks shocked for a moment, but then she smiles again. It's a smile he doesn't see very often, the kind that makes her whole face light up and his heart beat far too fast.

"I'd love to," she says.

...

Teddy's alone in the dorm later that night, almost dizzy with excitement.

He pulls his parents' photograph from his trunk and laughs. "She said yes," he tells them, unable to believe it. "She actually agreed to it."

He might be imagining it, but he thinks their smiles brighten just a bit. He smiles back, helpless not to, then it dims slightly. "I need this to go right," he says quietly. "I need this to be perfect. I can't--I can't lose her. If it goes wrong I don't know what I'll do."

He throws himself onto his bed and puts the picture on the bedside table. "How'd you do it?" he asks, but he knows their story. His mother fell first, and his father was very afraid. He was grief-stricken and too lost and he rejected her until he fell too. How exactly, he's not sure--the story varies a bit depending on who he asks. They weren't together long, he knows. He tries not to wonder what it'd be like if they were still alive, but this time he wonders. How did they manage to fall in love despite everything against them?

He and Victoire don't have trials like that. They have nothing standing in their way, really.

"You'd like her," he says. "She's... she's everything." He rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling. "Dear Merlin, she's everything."

...

four

...

Tomorrow, he will leave Hogwarts forever.

It seems stupid now to think that he'd been so against coming here. Staring at the dorm room that had been his home for seven years, it seems stupid now that next year someone else will move in. Someone else will sleep here and someone else will laugh and love and cry here, same as he did. Someone else will sneak snacks in from the kitchen and make a mess of the bathroom sink and listen to music and do their homework and read for fun in this room. Someone else will lean out that window and look over the forest. Someone else will run their fingers along the bed frames. Someone else will bring their friends--romantic or otherwise--into this room after hours. Someone else will breathe this air. Someone else will use the wardrobe. Someone else will make memories and, by Merlin, someone else will _live_ here the way he has for seven years.

And that seems wrong.

His dorm mates have all packed their bags. They're down at dinner. Part of Teddy doesn't want to miss the last dinner he'll ever have at Hogwarts, but there's a weight on his chest that is too heavy for him to even contemplate leaving the room, never mind socialize. He doesn't think he can bear looking around and knowing that _this is it_. It's done. It's _over_.

It's sort of like losing Andromeda all over again, only this time it's bittersweet as well as grief-inducing. He's not even sure why he's so upset--he's been counting down the days until graduation all year. Yesterday he was so excited and today, he knows that this is the last night he'll be here, and it's just too much. Everything is just too much.

He piles his textbooks into his trunk methodically, rearranging them once more. He folds his robes over them and stuffs his scarves along the edges of the trunk the same way he's done for the past seven years. He has little things he got from Hogsmeade that could break, so he wraps them in his clothes and it all finds its way into the trunk. He leans back on his heels and sighs, pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes, which won't stop stinging even though he's not cried at all.

He takes a deep breath and stands. He doesn't want to miss dinner.

His parents wave at him from the photo on his bedside table.

"What?" he breathes, confused. The photo moves, of course, as all wizarding photos do. But each picture has its own personality and the one of his parents isn't usually all that active. "Mum? Dad?" he asks, walking over to it.

They smile at him and laugh slightly to themselves, exchanging a look between them. Teddy furrows his eyebrows, picking up the frame. Remus looks at him with uncharacteristic focus and points to the side.

So Teddy puts the picture down and looks over.

At first nothing is noticeable. It looks the same as it always has. He looks at his parents again, still confused, so Remus points down slightly. Teddy looks again.

There's something wrong with the baseboard.

"What the hell," he says flatly, walking over. He kneels to get a better look.

It takes a second, but he's finally able to see what his father was pointing at.

There's an engraving in the baseboard.

_This was the dorm of the Marauders, Mr. Moony, Mr. Wormtail, Mr. Padfoot, and Mr. Prongs. 1971 - 1978. Mischief Managed, lads._

...

five

...

Teddy is twenty five. He's a successful curse-breaker for Gringotts Bank. He's been all around Europe at least twice. He was in Gryffindor House.

It should not be so terrifying to walk into a large room.

Of course, that large room contains just about everyone he's ever met, in addition to a few that he hasn't met, but who are apparently friends or distant relatives of Victoire's that have somehow escaped his notice over the years.

Ginny said that his parents had had a much smaller wedding, but he and Victoire never wanted a small wedding. That wasn't their style. Besides, he had the money to make her every dream come true, so by Merlin, that's what he was going to do.

He just had to go out there and stand in place. It wasn't like he was being walked down any aisle or anything. All eyes were going to be on Vic.

He couldn't bring himself to move.

Desperately, he looks around for something that could help calm him. He's thinking chocolate or something--maybe the anti-anxiety pills Al has if he becomes truly desperate, but he's not there yet. However, his eyes land on a photograph instead.

It's not that he hasn't looked at the photo since he graduated, because he has. It's just been a very long time since he felt he needed their help. Lately, Victoire has been his light in the darkness, the hope that guides his way.

Shaky hands lift the picture off the wall. His parents' faces brighten when they see him, and he smiles back, heart beating too fast. He spots the rings on their fingers and is reminded that Victoire has worn his mother's ring for over ten years. He'd given it to her when they were children, just after his grandmother died, still mostly ignorant of the promise contained in that ring.

He's not a child anymore. Victoire still has Nymphadora Lupin's wedding ring, even though Teddy had bought her one of her own.

"You'd like her," he says quietly. "You'd love her." He pauses. " _I_ love her. I'm marrying her."

He watches the picture move for a few moments. Most days, he can just pass it by without a second glance. He's twenty-five and has lived without them for twenty-five years. They're an idea, not a memory. When he thinks of family, he thinks of his grandmother, of the Potters and the Weasleys. His last name--Lupin--seems random. He knows it's not.

He looks at Remus and says, "She'll be a Lupin, too. Victoire Lupin. By Merlin, did you know she was scratching that into textbooks and bathroom walls as early as her first year? She told me that yesterday, when I saw her last." He laughs, reaching up to wipe tears from his eyes. "Why am I so nervous to marry her? We've been together our whole lives."

The picture doesn't answer, but the couple takes a moment to look at each other and then at him with soft, loving smiles.

Teddy sighs. "Wish you were here," he says. "I imagine you'd have liked to see your only child's wedding. It'd be nice to have my parents beside me."

Eventually he looks away, to the clock. Fifteen minutes.

"You never regretted it, did you?" he whispers.

He's not sure what he's asking about.

Their lives? Their choices? Their deaths? Each other? Teddy's not stupid; he knows it wasn't exactly a match made in heaven. He'd found pictures of his father with Sirius Black in a worn envelope years ago. It was a surprise, to be sure, but it made him wonder. Surely they'd been happy together.

Surely they were as happy together as he is with Victoire.

"Teddy?"

He looks to the door.

Ginny smiles at him, walking into the room. She's older now, in her forties. Not old, not by a long shot, but for the first time he can see a streak of gray in her hair.

He doesn't know the answers to his questions, not about Remus and Tonks.

But he has Ginny here, and Harry outside. They've been together for longer than he's been alive, despite how young they are. They're happy together, he knows it for certain; they greet each other with some variation of "I love you" every single morning.

Ginny comes close and he reaches out, taking her hand. "You okay, love?" she asks.

"Yeah," he says. She looks at him, then at the picture, and then back to him with a raised eyebrow. He swallows. "No," he amends.

She holds his hand a little tighter. "Tell me," she says softly.

Teddy looks back to the picture. "Were they happy?" he asks. "Did they make the right choice?"

She's quiet for a moment. "About getting married?" she clarifies. "I think so."

"You do?"

"Yes," she says firmly. "It was a hard time, but they were the lucky ones; to find happiness even as war waged around us. They didn't regret anything, except leaving you, I'm sure."

"Harry said something like that, once," he murmurs, contemplative. "I just. I love Victoire, so, so much. I don't want to do the wrong thing." He turns to Ginny. "Marrying her isn't wrong. I know that for sure. I just..." he trails off, then sighs. "I don't know."

"It's okay to be nervous." She reaches up and brushes his hair away from his eyes. It's blue today. Vic's favorite color. "I was. Harry was, but good luck getting him to admit it. Both of your parents were terrified. It's a new phase in your life and it's okay to be scared; you don't know how it's going to play out. But you're perfect together, Teddy. Victoire is your best friend. You couldn't find a better match."

He laughs. "Thanks, Ginny."

She smiles. "It's time, okay? I'll give you one more moment."

"Okay," he whispers, and she leaves.

He looks at the picture again. "I hope everything goes well," he tells them. He wipes his eyes. "You'd love her," he says again. "But you're not here and you don't know her, so I'm going to say this: she's the right choice. Always has been." He hangs the picture back on the wall and someone calls his name. "Wish me luck."

Tonks and Remus nod and smile and he smiles back.

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine Teddy and Vic would dance to "Never Worn White" by Katy Perry. I heard that and immediately thought of them because it seems like their kind of song.


End file.
